Giraffe

The tallest animal in the world

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Giraffidae

Genus & Species: Giraffa camelopardalis

APPEARANCE

Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world, with the males being 15-17 ft
tall and the females 12-15 ft tall. The neck takes up half of the height. The
males weigh around 1765-4225 lbs and the females weigh 1215-2600 lbs.
Giraffes are awkward-looking creatures with long legs and a long neck that
can reach 6 ft in length. The neck consists of only seven vertebrate, the
same number as most mammals, including humans. They have a 15 in
tongue used to grasp leaves and clean their eyes and ears. They have 2-5
short, skin-covered horns called ossicorns on their head that both males
and females have. A pair is found on the forehead with sometimes one in
front and another pair behind. As the giraffes get older, the ossicorns turn
from bristle to bone.

To keep from losing consciousness while drinking, the giraffe has extremely
elastic blood vessels and special valves in the neck to control the blood flow
to the head.

The giraffe has a familiar coat of chestnut brown, black or light brown
blotches on a buff background. As the giraffe ages, the coat darkens.
Giraffes have an unusually large voice box, and yet they rarely
communicate. They were thought to be mute until the middle of the century
when zoo keepers overheard them speak. The young bleat like cows and the
females make a sound like "wa-ray." Both males and females grunt and
cough.

To run they stretch their hind feet in front of their forefeet, and to walk
they move both feet on one side simultaneously. They can reach speeds of
56 km/h (35 mph). They have a lifespan of 25 years in the wild, 36 years in
captivity.

HABITAT

Giraffes are found in the open woodlands and grasslands of subsaharan
Africa. Their range is from Sudan and Somalia south to South Africa and
west to Nigeria.

Giraffes are found in herds of 2-10 led by a bull and consisting of cows,
calves and young males. "Necking," when two males stand side by side and
wrestle with their necks, is used to show dominance. Rarely does this
activity injure them.

FOOD

Giraffes feed mainly on acacia, as well as climbers, vines and herbs. The
thorns of the acacia tree proves to be of little worry to them as their long
tongues can reach between the thorns. The males and females do not
compete for food, as the males eat from the highest branches and the
females from the low branches. They consume approximately 30 lbs of
leaves daily.

BREEDING

Sexual maturity is reached at 3.5 years of age for the males, 4-5 years for
the females. They mate any time of the year. The gestation period is 453-464
days, with one calf being born. The young weigh 47-70 kg (103-155 lbs) at
birth and are 6 ft tall. They are born with ossicorns that lie flat on their
head and pop upright after a week. nursing is said to last for nine months,
although calves have been observed to stop after only a week. The milk is
rich in fat and the young grow quickly.

ENEMIES

Giraffes have few enemies. They are hunted by poachers and are
occasionally consumed by lions, although this is rare as one kick with the
long legs and heavy hooves can prove to be fatal. The young are eaten by
leopards, hyaenas and wild dogs.

RELATIVES

There are two species in the family Giraffidae, the giraffe and the okapi .
The giraffe is divided into nine subspecies based on the number of ossicorns
and the differences in the coat. They include the Nigerian, Kordofan,
Nubian, reticulated , Rothschild's , Masai , Thornicroft's, Southern and
Angolan giraffes.